A Short Survey of Rainbows in Art

Maybe it’s this week’s Newsweekcover. Maybe it’s a case of the gloomy Mondays in New York City. Whatever it is, today we want to look at rainbows. Presenting: Art with rainbows, because rainbows are festive and they make us happy. From complicated Rube Goldberg vandal-bike-machines to minimalistic window smudges, from rainbow illusions in strung wire to… erm… pancakes, here’s a small selection rainbow-tastic art we’ve dug up for your ogling pleasure. Enjoy.

We’re setting the bar high with this first one. Artist Michael Jones McKean conjured an actual rainbow. The Rainbow: Principles of Light and Shapes Between Forms project runs on renewable energy. It uses collected rainwater and a system of tanks and pressurized nozzles to mist up a perfect, DIY rainbow over the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska. Ooh. Ahh.